Fascia, Connections and Consciousness
Mary Taylor
We get glimpses through yoga practice of how intricately everything is connected. Without a conscious directive of mind, an inhalation expands the chest making room for the heart to float as a reminder that our true nature is spaciousness of heart. Love. If we’re lucky, we breath out and notice feet touching earth. We become grounded and awake, tuning in to layers of perception—mind, body and emotion.
With practice and courage, we ride wave patterns of change and realize that feelings, thoughts and sensations we’ve mistaken for ourselves, are simply reminders from nature of how everything is connected. A piece of music that shows up just when needed to dissolve our resistance, or a pattern in nature, like peacock feathers, that prompts us to recall that we too are part of a bigger, unfolding pattern of interconnectedness . If only we could see it, it would make things so much easier.
One of the most important aspects of interconnectedness is the interpenetrating nature of structural systems that define our body such as our nervous or circulatory system. The more we practice yoga, the more deeply we experience these connections. Which is why it is so fascinating to talk to people, like Liz Long, a long-time yoga practitioner who has devoted her life’s work to understanding subtle connections of being. I asked Liz to share some thoughts on how our physical body quietly teaches us—whether we listen or not—how deeply connected everything is. This is what she said:
When I first learned about fascia, I was taught that it was like a “plastic wrapping” on the outside of our muscles and organs. I applied firm foam rollers to my fascia before and after workouts in order to soften this tissue. After using foam rollers, I noticed that I immediately had more access to increased range-of-motion and flexibility. I also felt empowered to relieve some of my own long-standing aches and pains. My early exploration in releasing my fascia opened my eyes. It would be another 7 years before I became a fascia-focused somatic bodyworker. I eventually started to study the fascial system more seriously. I began to realize how much leverage is available to us through this complex and historically overlooked system. My approach to bodywork changed drastically as did my approach to my yogic and physical practices. Furthermore, I had new and different access to interoception (sensing within) and noticed an evolution of my consciousness explorations. I felt like I had stepped into an uncharted version of reality.
As I began to notice these not-so-subtle changes, I was blown away with the downright mystical feelings emerging from my new course of study. Many of the experiences we have in yoga or the realm of somatic bodywork are difficult to put into words and are even harder to engage with science. However, my thinking-conditioned mind was satisfied to see that scientists are attempting to understand why we have the experiences that we have when we engage the body at the fascial level.
So, what exactly is the fascia? I now no longer see it as plastic wrapping on the outside of muscles and organs. It is much more complex than that. The fascia is a fine web of different textures and thicknesses that structures, nourishes, and permeates the entire body all the way down to each and every cell.
Figure 1 :: By T. Flemons 2006
Figure 1 loosely demonstrates how the fascia is a web that comprises the entire body. This image also shows how the fascia is a web of “tensegrity.” Architect and systems theorist Buckminster Fuller introduced tensegrity as a combination of the concepts of tension and integrity. The idea of tensegrity is important here because it shifts our assumption that structure is provided to the body by the bones. Rather, the structure of the body as well as our very ability to stand and move in gravity is a result of the tensegrity of the fascial system. We will not spend a lot of time exploring this concept here but I encourage you, if you are interested, to do your own research on biotensegrity.
What is important to gather from this image is that the fascia is one piece; it is a three-dimensional web and every inch of the body, including the bones, the organs, and of course, the muscles are permeated by this web all the way down to the cells. Therefore, when you put your awareness into your fascial system, you are putting your awareness into your entire body as a whole. It is the most pervasive structure in the whole body.
The fascial system is not simply a system of structure. It is also highly involved in mechanotransduction (when cells convert mechanical stimulus into electrical activity), hemodynamics (the movement of the blood), supporting the immune system, and creating an environment that allows for wound healing. It is highly enervated, especially with pain receptors, and it is a major contributor to proprioception.
What can happen when you shift your awareness into your fascial system? This is a question we are going to address phenomenologically and support it with what we know currently from empiricism. That means we're going to discuss this from the perspective of what happens in human conscious awareness and perception. Then we will support human perception with the scientific observational perspective.
In my experience and what I've gathered from the reports of others, putting the attention in the fascial system allows the body to be sensed and moved as a singular connected whole. This awareness gives greater access to the “in between” spaces, allows us to tone the organs, and gives us greater access to a sense of mechanical expansion and contraction. I currently hypothesize that the reason this awareness gives us those experiences is because the fascia literally exists all over the body and has its own motility. Motility means that something has its own contraction and expansion capabilities. That means that it is not just the cells of the muscles that contract and expand. Every place in the body that has fascia contracts and expands through the fascia itself.
In yoga, when we talk about toning or softening the organs, we are actually doing that. It is not a metaphor. When you press out through your fingertips in a warrior or any posture that requires extension, you are accurately feeling that telescopic sensation that you can press into your end-range-of-motion and then press again for more expansion. To put it a bit simply, the fascia expands and contracts by gliding on itself telescopically (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 :: By Tijmen Stam 2006
So, when you're doing yoga and your teacher says to move your skin in some way, soften your groins, or a lift up on your organs, take those adjustments literally. When you attempt those actions, you are not only doing this on the energetic level, which is very important and valuable, you are also doing it on the physical level through the fascial and muscular systems.
What are some of the current speculations on the link between consciousness and the fascial system? Consider the humble amoeba. Amoebas do not have a central nervous system yet are fully functional and responsive to their environments. They find food, avoid predators, and reproduce. Hameroff, Penrose, and Bandyopadhyay are well-known consciousness researchers who study emerging theories for the production of consciousness. In the case of the amoeba who lacks a central nervous system, researchers speculate that the reason the amoeba can behave as a conscious being is due to the energy in the cytoskeleton, or the membrane that surrounds, structures, and allows for nourishment of this single celled organism. All human cells are provided structure by cytoskeletons that are made up of microtubule filaments. Cytoskeletons and microtubules might be thought of as some of the smallest levels of the fascial system. Again, this is another idea that is too complex to fully explore here. If you want to get into the details of how to define the fascial system and its parts, please read “The Awareness of the Fascial System” by Bruno Bordoni and Marta Simonelli or watch Strolling Under the Skin by Dr Guimberteau (easily found on YouTube).
Although we are far from proving or disproving that fascia is involved in the production of consciousness, I share this current inquiry with you as food for thought. What if consciousness is not produced solely by neurons in the brain? What if this intricate microscopic web that surrounds, supports, and interacts with every structure and cell in the body is involved? What does that imply about yoga and other conscious movement practices? Perhaps this line of inquiry can help us understand some day why certain forms of moment, stretching, releasing, and touch work cause the conscious phenomena (memories, emotions, dreamlike images, spontaneous trauma and stress release, etc.) that it does.
While we can't know everything about the intersection between the fascial system and consciousness, we do know a lot about what supports a healthy fascial system. First and foremost, stay hydrated. The web of the fascia is made of microtubules that are filled with a crystalline form of water. This form of water is called the fourth phase of water and you can learn more about that from scientist Dr Gerald Pollack.
When we talk about fascia restrictions or fascial adhesions, usually what we mean is an area of the fascia has become dehydrated. This can happen for a number of reasons. The main reason an area becomes dehydrated is the result of a physical impact that causes collagenous cross-links to form. Collagenous crosslinks are a kind of scar tissue. We all have areas of collagenous cross-links aka adhesions all over our body. These cross-links tighten down just like a scar would on the surface of your skin. As the crosslinks tighten down inside, they squeeze out areas of the fascia like a sponge. If this goes on long enough, the tissues in that area become so firm that remediation is not possible much like thick long-standing scar tissue. Emotional impacts can have the same effect as physical impacts on the fascia. This is a little harder to explain so we won't spend much time on this here. The bottom line is stay hydrated. If regular water is not satiating to you, try adding electrolytes to your water or drink cold marshmallow root infusions.
The next thing to know regarding fascia maintenance is soft tissue mobilization. First, find areas that are hot, hard, or tender and don't move very well. Once those areas are found, it has to be decided whether a firmer mobilization approach is necessary or if a softer one is better. As an indirect myofascial release therapist, I am biased and I find that the softer approach is usually more effective in the long-term, though I do still value heavier pressure in certain instances. A firmer approach would be like getting a deep tissue sports massage, using a firm foam roller, or lacrosse ball. A softer approach would be like receiving craniosacral therapy, indirect myofascial release, or using a very soft ball like a stress ball on an area that has been stuck. If you have something in the body that is very hard and does not move, that means that there are a lot of collagenous cross-links and dehydration in that area. That is when you ought to use a firmer approach. If something is hot or tender but not super firm that is when you ought to use a softer approach. Furthermore, you never want to use any intensely firm pressure on your organs or any other vulnerable site like a recent surgical area.
Yin Yoga is a classic yogic approach for opening the fascial system. I strongly encourage that if you use this kind of yoga that you “go at the speed of the fascia.” You can also practice ashtanga with the same intention, going at the fascia’s speed. What that means is don't push fully into intense sensation. Go just to the point that you feel even the slightest sensation. This will not be even close to your full range of motion. However, if you have patience and start at the lightest depth barrier you will find that you will achieve more opening and softening of the tissue in a shorter period of time. In the words of John F Barnes “take the hurry out, you’ll get more done.” You may as well “take the hurry out” no matter what kind of yoga you are doing. Notice how your practice changes if instead of going to full range of motion or even close to it you, rather, pause at several easy, gentle places for yourself in your static postures. You might find that you will find more flexibility and strength more quickly and incur less injury over time.
Turn your awareness to your fascial system for a different experience of your being. A long-term exploration of this system may open you to a higher level of autonomy when it comes to supporting your health of mind, body, emotion, and spirit.
References: Not all are used in this paper but may be interesting for your own studies.
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Layering of sound and vibration through the fascia is a subtle path toward insight
Liz Long, MA, LPCC, LMT is a body psychotherapist, somatic bodyworker, and couples therapist in private practice in Boulder, Colorado. She works with an aim to expel the illusion that body, mind, emotions, and spirit are separate, believing the experience of dynamic wholeness fosters good lives.
Liz has been working and studying in the mental and physical health fields since 2000 in settings that range from State Hospitals with those experiencing severe psychological symptoms to yoga/massage studios.
Her private practice supports people experiencing anxiety/depression, relationship dynamic imbalances, functional neurological disorders, dissociative disorders, complex PTSD, autoimmune disorders, chronic illnesses, and bodily complications related to trauma.
Liz also co-created and co-taught Project Seizure Free in 2019, a course for clients with functional neurological disorders, and published a paper on her work Somatic Psychotherapeutic Fascial-Work with the International Journal of Body Psychotherapy in 2020.
She summarizes her bio by saying, “When I’m not standing on the shoulders of giants, I enjoy the outdoors, cook magical food, and deep-dive into somatic/consciousness explorations.”
